


Call me, maybe?

by suecollins



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Theo, confessions through the phone, phonecalls, season 5 events, sterek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 10:10:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14767607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suecollins/pseuds/suecollins
Summary: Derek left with Braeden to hunt down the Desert Wolf, and now Stiles is alone with his fears and concerns. Luckily, phones exists and Derek always has good cell reception.





	Call me, maybe?

**Author's Note:**

> Some things I ignored from season 5, some I did not. Takes place after Theo arrives and weird werewolves with glowing claws decide to fuck Stiles' life up.

Stiles stepped into his room and tossed his schoolbag in the corner. He sighed as he fell on his bed, burying his face in his hands. Today has been a complete disaster, as well as the last couple of days – weeks, even. Something was definitely off, he could feel that – what he didn't know was why none of his friends seemed to have noticed the _offness_. Stiles was tired, very tired, and very scared. Senior year will fly right past them, and if they are not careful, they will end up separated.

Stiles was afraid to lose his friends.

He had already lost so many people.

Just at that moment, his phone started buzzing in his pocket. Stiles fished the device out, and upon seeing the caller ID flashing on the screen, a smile began to form on his face. He almost forgot it was time for the weekly check-in.

"Hey, Sourwolf."

" _Would you just please stop calling me that,_ " Derek sighed, but Stiles could hear the small smile in his voice. " _How was today? Still worried about that guy you told me about?_ "

"Yeah," said Stiles, as he fell back on his bed, legs hanging down the side, his free hand covering his face. "I dunno’, Derek. I can just... feel it, y'know? But I don't know how to prove it and of course Scott wouldn't believe me for the world. None of those so-called friends of mine believe me, actually, even though they know that I'm right all the time – "

" _Or at least seventy percent of the time._ "

"– even though they know I'm right at least seventy percent of the time, and it's just driving me nuts, Derek. I'm totally going crazy over here."

Derek sighed again. " _So nothing has changed, I see._ "

"Not really," Stiles shrugged. "What about you? How's the wolf-hunt going?"

" _We still have nothing. Braeden’s been talking to people in this area, but they are not very friendly._ " Stiles heard the sound of plates being moved, and a grumpy female voice in the background that no doubt belonged to the mercenary. " _But then again, neither is Braeden,_ " Derek added quietly. " _We will find her, though. I promised Malia that I will find the Desert Wolf and I intend to keep that promise._ "

"Yeah." Stiles had overheard the conversation between Derek and Malia before the man left with Braeden to God-knows-where – Stiles did not even bother to ask now, they were always moving. Malia asked Derek to look for her birth mother; an idea Braeden was not very keen on, given her history with the Desert Wolf and more specifically with hunting the Desert Wolf, but eventually she gave in and agreed to help the man.

Ever since Derek left, Stiles felt alone. Sure, his friends were still there, but Derek was always the one who actually listened when he said something. He practically begged Derek to call him at least once a week, so he knew the wolf was still alive, and so they could discuss anything that was on Stiles' mind.

 

And so Derek called.

Every week, like he promised.

 

" _Stiles._ "

"Yeah?"

" _What's going on?_ "

"Nothing?"

" _Stiles. I can practically smell your anxiety through the phone._ "

The boy snorted. "That's stupid. How could you _smell_ me through the phone?"

" _I bet you're just lying on your bed, haven't even changed, and you're just acting all miserable._ "

Stiles shot a quick glance towards his window. "Dude, are you watching me or what? This is creepy."

" _No,_ " Derek chuckled. " _I just know you._ "

Stiles smiled and closed his eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, you do." He took a deep breath. "I miss you, Sourwolf," he whispered, barely audible for a human, but perfectly clear for Derek.

 

It took Derek a good ten seconds to speak again. " _So what's eating you?_ " he asked, leather squeaking in the background. He probably sat down on a couch or something, Stiles thought. The boy sat up and climbed higher on his bed, kicking his shoes off as he pressed his back to the wall.

"It's just... Everything, Derek, everything sucks right now! Since the Senior Scribe – I found your initials, by the way – things are just keep going downhill again. You know, after that weird werewolf with glowing claws attacked Scott – "

" _The what?!_ "

"Oh shit, I forgot to mention that. Nevermind though, Scott kicked his ass and he ran so I'm not very worried about that at the moment. Right now I'm worried about Theo and I'm worried about graduation and I'm worried about losing my friends and I'm worried about you as well." Stiles took a deep breath to continue. "You're so far away and what if you get in trouble and I'm–... _we're_ not there to protect you, and what if Braeden gets hurt and then she can't help you either, and what if you won't even come back because you find yourself a nice little hut in the desert where you can brood alone or you find a cottage in the countryside and you find a pretty werewolf girl and you'll just forget about m– ... _us_. And – "

" _Stiles, you're being an idiot._ "

"No, Derek, these are perfectly legit fears. You do like to brood alone and I bet you find isolated huts appealing."

" _Yes, but not in the desert. We've been there, it sucked. Too hot._ "

Stiles ignored the fact that Derek Hale had just made a joke and murmured, "Well I guess you and the desert have something in common."

 

Derek went silent for a minute. The boy banged his head against the wall. "I mean... It sucks that it sucked. Y'know. I mean... Whatever."

" _You are an idiot._ " Derek's voice trembled for a second. " _But I miss you too. And I won't move into a cottage either. I'll come back. Home._ " The werewolf inhaled deeply. " _To you._ "

 

Stiles almost dropped his phone in surprise. He's been throwing hints at Derek over the phone for months now, never knowing if they reached him or not. He has been in love with the man for a while, but he never told anyone, not even Scott. After the La Iglesia fiasco (if you can call it a fiasco when Derek almost died and Stiles almost died with him) he thought about telling Derek, but since he never actually got any signs from the man, he figured it would be best to just forget it, and let Derek be with Braeden (just to learn later that they were not together anymore). That was before they started their weekly phone calls and they started to have actual conversations, talking about life in general, sharing their fears and secrets with the other and so on. Stiles really appreciated that even from afar, Derek tried to help him cope with his problems. He returned the favour whenever he could, occasionally researching for them, or translating ancient texts that Braeden sent over via e-mail, or just listening to Derek when he needed to talk about something.

But now Derek said that Stiles was home to him and he was absolutely speechless. Maybe he should just pretend to have fallen asleep and take the night to figure out what to do with that information, because right now Stiles was pretty sure his mind has just turned into a useless glob.

" _You know you just said that all out loud, right?_ "

 

Or maybe he should just deal with it right now.

"Shit," Stiles whimpered. "I mean, thanks. I mean– Well, not thanks, because that sounds really lame, and thanks is not the right answer here, definitely not." Stiles resisted the urge to bite his own tongue off. "What I mean is– "

" _I know._ " Derek's voice was light, almost as if he was smiling. " _I've known before, idiot._ "

Stiles' mouth fell open. "What?"

" _Well, you were not very subtle, coming over to my place all the time, giving me looks when you thought I didn't see you, nearly pissing yourself when you thought I died.._ "

"Okay, first of all you were dying so shut up, how would you even know that. Second, I did not nearly piss myself. I specifically remember not pissing myself nearly or any other way for that matter."

" _My point is,_ " Derek continued " _That I –_ " Derek hesitated. " _I feel the same, okay?_ "

Stiles' heart skipped a beat. Derek must have sensed it, even through the phone, because he quickly added " _Don't freak out. I promise I'll come back and we'll talk about it, okay? Just– ... be patient._ "

"I've been waiting a long time now, a little more shouldn't be a problem." Stiles grinned. "You totally just confessed your love to me, Sourwolf. I hope Braeden recorded that."

Derek did not respond immediately, and Stiles just knew he was rolling his eyes. He heard glasses clattering when the werewolf said, " _You're crazy._ "

"So people keep telling me that. But hey – I'm crazy _for you_."

 

Derek choked on the water he was probably trying to drink. " _You did not just say that,_ " he said, coughing a little. " _Oh my God, Stiles, I take it back. I take it all back. I'm never coming back to Beacon Hills. The desert will be just fine._ "

Stiles laughed, an honest laugh, first time in a long while. "I can't wait for you to come back. I'll hug the life out of you, Sourwolf."

Derek stifled a laugh. " _I expect nothing less._ "

For a few minutes they were both silent, listening to each other breathing through the phone. It was Derek who spoke first. " _I should go; Braeden and I are heading out. Checking the woods for footprints of that guy she talked to earlier. She thinks he's lying._ "

Stiles nodded, and then realized the werewolf's supersenses probably didn't pick that up. "Okay. Will you– will you call me again? Tomorrow?"

" _I will,_ " Derek spoke in a soft voice. " _But only if you promise to talk to your dad about that Theo guy. And consult Deaton on the glowing claws thing, it doesn't sound good. Just be careful, Stiles. I want you to be in one piece when I return._ "

"I'll try," said Stiles. "Now hang up, you're taking my precious sleeping time away."

Derek laughed. " _Bye, Stiles._ "

"Bye, Sweetwolf."

" _Oh my Go–_ "

 

Stiles ended the call before Derek could finish his sentence. And if later he fell asleep smiling at a text message that said " **Idiot. :)** ", well, no one was there to judge him for it.


End file.
